Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-09
DAILY HERALD.
CITY SEWERAGE.
Report of Rudolph Her,
ring, of Chicago.
THE PLAN RECOMMENDED
How to Construct the Sewers
and Dispose of the
Sewage.

determined 10 eluploy RuiolPh AA0i
ring, the Chief Engineer of the Chica
go Sanitary Commission, to examine
this city and the plans of Surveyor
Eaton for the sewer system which it il
proposed to establish, at as early 6
date as possible. In conjunction with
Surveyor Eaton, Mr.. Herring has been
studying the city for several weeks
past, and yesterday he finished his la
bors and signed his report, which fol
lows, and which will be submitted tt
the City Council on Monday next
Mr.. Herring left yesterday at moor
for San Francisco on his way to New
York, where he has an engagement
to devise system for the proper sew
erage of that city. The report is al
follows:
Los ANGELES, September 6, 1887.
To the Honorable the President ant
Council of the City of Los angeles:
GENTLEMEN-In accordance will
the instruction of your honorable body
dated June 9th, regarding the pro
posed sewerage plans OF this city,
herewith respectfully present to yol
the following report:
On my arrival in Los Angeles,
found that Mr. Fred. Eaton, the City
Surveyor, had collected and compiled
most OF the data necessary for cleal
insight into the essential features o.
the problem, and, from his familiarity
with the subject and intelligent judg
ment, has also very ably outlined its
best solution.
The problem cannot be said to pre-
sent serious difficulties. Portions oi
the city are rather hills, and the
grades and lines of many streets are
not the best that could be desired fol
a drainage system, but good outlets
can be obtained everywhere, though
in some instances at the expense ot
heavy cutting or tunneling, or of cross
ing private property. The genera,
slope of the territory included withir
the corporate limits of the city is suffi
cient to carry off the sewerage with q
rapid and regular velocity, which il
the principal requirement of perfect
system.
SEWERAGE WORKS.
In designing sewerage works the
first question to be considered is the
ultimate disposal OF the sewage.
Speaking generally, there are three
ways in which this can be done.
Sewage can be turned into a large
water course on the sea, and diluted
to such an extent that its Objectionable
qualities are lost. Secondly, it can bt
spread over large areas of land, and
by ordinary methods of irrigation
utilized for agricultural purposes or bt
confined to smaller areas of land ant
purified, simply by filtration through
the soil. Thirdly, it can be treated
by chemical process which causes
the suspended and some of the dis
solved putrescible matter to be pre-
cipitated, leaving the liquid sufficient.
Iy pure to be turned into natural water
courses. The latter method cannot
be considered here, because its ex'
pense would be vastly greater than
either Of the others, and its working is
less satisfactory.
Where it can be safely done, it is
usually preferred to discharge the sew
age of large cities into water course
or the sea. In this way it is disposed
of effectually at once, and requires nc
further attention. The sewage OF Lo:
Angeles may be turned into the ocean
at point half way between Ballons
Harbor and the salt works, and l do
not hesitate to say that such disposi
tion will be quite satisfactory undeI
the usual precautions of previousl,
straining the sewage and of discharg
ing it only at high tide. The coas
towns of England almost without ex
ception employ this method success
fully, and we have the same result il
q number of our Eastern seaboart
cities, notably Boston. The foul water
are taken out by the receding tide, ant
so thoroughly dispersed and diluted
that they soon become unnoticeable
IRRIGATION DISPOSAL.
A disposal by irrigation is, however
likewise practicable, and will furnish
a very satisfactory solution of tn,
problem. Moreover, the great valu,
of irrigation in this part OF the coun
try and the existence of suitable ter
riJory for the purpose, presently to bt
described, make this method also ar
exceptionally economical one. On the
other hand, the increasing value o
land for suburban residences will have
the tendency to make it less 50, anC
there may be time when irrigation
will become as undesirable on the
proposed tract, as it has become on
the nearer tract now receiving the
sewage of the city.
In view of these facts it is cleal
that, while for some time to come the
sewage can profitably be used for irri-
cation, provision should be made at
an early day, at least, by securing
right of way, ETC., for an ultimate dis
posal into the ocean.
The territory which is available for
a sewage farm lies on 6,600-acre
tract of the Centennial ranch, be-
tween Los Angeles and the ocean,
and practically along the line of a
sewer which would be selected for an
ocean disposal. The soil is light and
sandy, and the surface has a gentle
slope, making it in all respects suit
able for sewage irrigation. The avail
able area is from two to three times
what would be considered ample, in
countries with a larger rainfall, for a
population of 100000, which it has
been deemed proper to provide for in
this project.
OBJECTIONS TO IRRIGATION.
The fact that for several years the
city sewage has been used for irriga.
ton should render it unnecessary to
answer number of the common
objections to such disposal. made by
those entirely unfamiliar with the
subject, who fear danger in health
the pollution of the subsoil water, OF
the creation of a nuisance. Else
where the same objections have been
made whenever the dispo,
,ition was advised, but subsequent
experience has never justified them.
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